Post navigation

Abruptly, and likely surprising nobody more than my husband, I have decided to be a Good Football Wife this year. Finding it impossible to summon any actual enthusiasm for the game but refusing to fulfill the sitcom wife-cliché of grumbling about my husband’s Sunday afternoon routines, in the past, I’ve mostly tolerated it. But with months of cold and/or wet Sundays ahead of us, I finally came to the realization that football season is the perfect excuse to embrace some much-needed Lazy Sundays. A morning bagel, park and farmers market run routine segues nicely into an afternoon of bumming around, or you know, however the person at hand defines it. For Alex, football, with the requisite pre- and post-game Sports Shouting episodes. For Jacob, removing books from the bookcases one by one, then attempting to stand on them to reach higher shelves, so he can remove them too. He naps, we replace the books, he wakes up and starts again. Ah, Sundays.

I made a giant pot of beef chili that I found from an old (like, 20 years!) Gourmet magazine, which, like almost all Gourmet recipes I run across, makes me sniffle and miss the magazine (in its original incarnation, that is, I haven’t made sense of this app thing yet) even more. Here, they gathered all of the things you’d normally dollop on top of a bowl of chili — cheddar, sour cream and pickled jalapeños — and formed them into a biscuit, which they use to serve the chili shortcake-style. I bet you didn’t know chili could be so cute! I just want to stand up and applaud their creativity but instead I’m very sad, because I’ve been bereft of fresh batches of it for nearly a year. I did not cry into this chili, however, because it was awesome, so awesome that the member of our family who a) does not know how to use a spoon, b) wants to eat what you’re eating but c) refuses to be fed from a spoon actually honored us with the privilege of letting us feed him. And tucked away a frightening amount of chili. The chili is that tremendous.

One last thing: If you are from Texas, I want you to promise to take a deep breath before reading the recipe. I know that chili con carne is the official dish of Texas and I know how seriously Texans take their chili con carne and their feelings about things named chili that contain things like kidney beans, bell peppers, carrots, oregano, vinegar and if that hasn’t blown your top yet, tomato sauce too — see also: Epicurious comments such as “No TEXAN would ever call this chili!” and “This recipe is blasphemous!” Then again, if you are from Texas you’ve likely got a recipe you were making since you were old enough to stand at a stove and don’t need my Chili Con Carne Not Sanctioned By Texans or Those With Texas Allegiances anyway. But still, I want us all to get along, even those of us who (shh) might like it all blasphemized better.

A couple notes: First, if you like a saucier chili, you might reduce the beef by one pound, though this might reduce your serving size. [Updated to add:] You could also add a second can of beans, as some commenters have suggested. Second, I didn’t get the rise out of these biscuits that I’d expected to. Since they were delicious and other commenters have raved about them, I assumed it was me and didn’t bother tinkering with them. Finally, the original recipe says that it serves six but I think it stretches further, especially if you’re doing this shortcake-style, with just a ladleful on top. I’d suggest scaling the biscuit portion to the number of guests you’re having. If you make more than you need, I recommend freezing the extras unbaked until you’re ready to serve the chili again — you can bake them directly from the freezer, and they’ll always be fresh and crisp. [Updated a few years later to add:] I mention this in the previous note, but not as clearly as I should have: this makes a lot of chili but not that many biscuits. The proportions, especially if you want to serve this on biscuits, are off. I’d double or triple the biscuit recipe if serving the full batch of chili. Enjoy!

In a large pot (I used a 5-quart, and just fit it all), heat the oil over moderately low heat and cook the onions in it for 5 to 10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and carrots and cook for one minute more. Raise the heat to medium and add the beef, stirring and breaking up any lumps until it is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano and pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Add the tomato sauce, broth and vinegar and simmer the chili, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes (if you used ground beef) or 50 to 60 minutes (if you used coarse chuck). Add the kidney beans, bell peppers, salt (I used 2 teaspoons to get the seasoning right for my tastes) and pepper to taste and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, until the bell peppers are tender.

Serve ladled over a split Sour Cream and Cheddar Biscuit, below, with additional sour cream and pickled jalapenos, if desired.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Either cut the butter pieces into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or rub them in with your fingertips until well-combined. Stir in the cheddar, jalapeños and sour cream until the mixture forms a sticky dough. Pat it out to a 1/2-inch thickness on a very well-floured counter and use a 3 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to cut six rounds. Bake on an ungreased (or parchment-lined, if your baking sheets are as “weathered” as mine are) for 15 to 17 minutes, until golden on top.

Do ahead: If you’d like to serve them over a couple days, I recommend freezing already formed but unbaked biscuits until you are ready to bake them — you can bake them directly from the freezer, adding just a minute or two to the baking time.

I have to say I love the blasphemous chili much more than the Texan variety. Just don’t tell that to my 4 or 5 or 15 in-laws that reside in Texas, will you? I don’t want to be thrown out of the family just yet.

On the biscuit side, I have to say, delicious. And the side projects, I have a very hard time keeping up with myself, much less sharing all of that with other people as I balance everything and try not to break too many dishes in the process, so I can definitely relate. I have been enjoying the tips, the baby site and your Epicurious ramblings, and I always look forward to what you cook up here. Thanks for being so incredibly inspiring.

I just made a great chili recipe a couple of weekends ago – for a football game, nonetheless. Wish I had heard of these cheddar biscuits before that point, it sounds like the perfect side for a great bowl of chili!

This Gourmet recipe is the basis of my go-to chili recipe too! For a half batch, I use 1 lb of ground beef, add a can of diced tomatoes and another (small one) of tomato paste, keep the carrots and peppers at full strength (i.e., not halved), and add a small handful of cocoa nibs or 1 oz of unsweetened chocolate. Just made it last week in fact…yum.

I know this might be a crazy idea, but is there anything that can substitute the tomato sauce or tomato puree? I am allergic to tomatoes and often have to skip over these super yummy sounding recipes and have always wondered if there was a substitute.
Thanks!

I’m from Texas and don’t worry, I’ll be giving this a try before I scream blasphemy ;) Although, I’m really flexible with my chili and I happen to love beans and tomato sauce in my chili. Oh gosh… have I become the blasphemous Texan?! :-O

This looks so delicious! I have to say I completely empathize with the Good Football Wife role. Now I’ll know what to do with myself instead of pretending to enjoy/understand what’s going on during the game!

Texan born and raised here (although currently living elsewhere). Hook’em Horns and all that. And I put beans AND tomato paste in my chili. I know it’s sacrilege, but it makes damn good chili! However I draw the line at carrots. I want chili, not ground beef stew!

Hm, yeah. I need to make this at some point this winter. I love homemade chili but have never tried making it myself. Part of the problem is that my husband insists he doesn’t like chili, and what would I do with all the leftovers? I’m sure I can think of something. Thanks, Deb!

I’m from Texas, and my dad’s (delicious) chili is quite similar to yours (he adds potatoes to the blasphemy). It’s always better to embrace diversity in all its delicious forms — culinary or otherwise, right? ;-)

Both the biscuits and the chili look absolutely scrumptious – I’ll have to try it this weekend now that it’s finally getting cooler down here!

Deb, this is exactly how I feel! I’m not much of a football fan – although I have started to appreciate it more since I started playing roller derby, since a lot of the concepts are the same (derby is way cooler, IMHO). And it’s difficult for me when the weather is really nice and my boyfriend wants to watch his beloved Atlanta Falcons. But! If you can’t beat’em, join’em, right? It’s a great excuse to cook and clean and tackle house projects. Thanks for your great site, it’s one of my favorites!

Any recommendations for making these biscuits at altitude (7200 ft)? I’m a recent transplant from sea-level and my baking has been hit & miss since the move. The King Arthur directions are good, but sort of confusing: less leavening agent, more dry *and* more wet ingredients, etc. Specific tips for this recipe would be much appreciated!

haha! I love your message to the Texans. I’ve never had chili without tomatoes (well, not that I know of anyway), so in New England this recipe is a-ok :) Do all thsoe spices not bother Jacob’s belly? I’m not sure how baby bellies work.

Hahaha! Why are so many of my fellow Texans so weirdly religious about things like traditional recipe ingredients? Eh. I say mix it up, as well as a hearty AMEN to your hearty, delicious-looking chili. Just in time for our cooler temps, down here, by the way!

I cannot tell you how happy news of your baby food site makes me! I have a seven and a half month old and we were just talking about wanting to make applesauce for her, but not knowing how or what to do. Yay!

confession…i have never made chili…
on one of those LONG football sundays, i am going to make this dish w/biscuits.
& too funny, i was looking for a black & white cookie recipe…& there IT WAS! sooo happy on all levels…thanks!!

whenever you say parchment lined, is it okay to use foil instead? the sheets i use belonged to my mother (and probably her mother as well) so i need to cover them with something, but whenever i use parchment i get panicked it’s going to set fire in the oven. there’s always much smoking and odd spots and, who knows why. (and yes, i’m not mistakenly using wax paper or a brown bag or something :p)

Not sure if your questioned got answered but foil is a decent sub for parchment as long as you spray it with pam (foil isn’t as non stick as parchment). Have you checked your parchment paper’s heat rating? They usually say they’re safe up to 450 degrees or so. Anyway a little blackening of parchment isn’t a big deal. I find you can avoid some if you cut your parchment to size instead of letting the edges hangover.

OH I’m a fan of football sort of – when my husband is not screaming like a banchy – because I love being in on Sundays lazying around myself! I need downtime before a busy work week! But lemme tell you, I went to the stadium a few weeks ago for my first TAILGATE extravaganza and lemme tell ya – it was THE BEST! My husband and son have been raving for the 10+ years they’ve been going and well I had my first taste and I’m thinking – hmmm maybe I’ll just take the train and tailgate and hop on the train home when all the men go in for the game. IT WAS THAT GOOD! Seriously!

oh boy oh boy – it is definitely getting close to time for chili! i was toying with a pulled pork recipe for this weekend’s bears game, but maybe chili instead? of course, it most certainly does not have anything whatsoever to do with the biscuits (wink..).

Oh my YUM!! I love it and can’t wait to make it this weekend (as soon as I get a bigger pot! lol) I always put all of those ingredients in, just in diff quantities..the only think I add is celery sometimes :o) Can’t wait to try it with the biscuits!

My husband and I were having a “which is better to watch” argument about baseball vs football, with him being solidly in the baseball camp. I pointed out that there are a myriad of snacks associated with football, all fattening and delicious. All baseball has going for it is a hot dog and a handfull of peanuts. He had to concide me that point.

Brilliant idea, biscuits are not really served here in NZ, we call them scones, and have them with jam & cream, but I tried them with sausage gravy on a trip to the US a few years ago, (thanks goodness it was a short holiday or I would have left the size of a house!) and fell in love:) Makes a fab change from rice, I guess you could use buttermilk instead of sour cream?

Chili has been on my list of things to make for some time. This looks like a good friendly recipe for those who have never made chili con carne.

I’m really excited about your participation in Epicurious and learning about how you are introducing new foods to your baby. One thing is for sure Jacob is certainly going to be exposed to a large variety of good foods.

We’re making chili tonight…the weather in NYC today actually demands chili for dinner! Your recipe came at a most appropriate time! Yours is actually a variation on my go-to chili recipe. I love beans in my chili – helps a lot with upping the fiber content, and makes it go a LOT further. I generally use red beans or black beans and cannelini beans. I also use red, yellow and green bell peppers. The great thing about chili is that it is an easy that is SO easy to customize to whatever you have in your fridge and/or pantry.
I’m gluten-intolerant, but I’m sure that your sour cream biscuits are TO DIE FOR!

I agree with your earlier poster about allowing your baby to try spicier foods. We basically only gave our baby bland foods until our pediatrician told us when our son was 7 months old to try seasoned foods…basically saying that if we were living in India, he’d already be eating curries at 6 months old, so to try spicier foods because babies have a very acute appreciation for seasonings. At 2, our son LOVES hummus, artichokes, most spices, is obsessed with lox, tuna fish, loves garlic and pepper in his wheels and broccoli, and has already tried sushi! A little trick also – frozen broccoli florets cook in the same amount of time as pasta in boiling water…so if you throw in dry pasta, add some frozen broccoli to to the boiling water…it gets very soft, so it is easy for a baby to eat, and is a super-easy way to make sure that a baby is eating veggies!

This looks delish! I know the beef adds a lot of depth to the chili, but I could see a smokey vegetarian chili being wonderful and a little lighter. (Don’t tell Texas I put the words vegetarian and chili next to each other.)

I love football. And I do love making chili- but I think I may have to skip the carrots…..as it seems sacriligious somehow and my boys (big and small) each claim to only dislike one food on the planet: cooked carrots. We always eat it with corn chips and cheese, but the biscuit idea is awesome!!!!

ps–watching football is always a nice opportunity to surreptitiously ogle the man bodies all over the field ….maybe that will help.

Bridget — I say in the recipe notes that I believe this will serve more people. I don’t think the three of us got through a quarter of it last night (though, possibly, the baby doesn’t count as a full serving).

Christine — Now, not to be stuck on a technicality, but how can you see them under all that armor?

Anyway, I can’t say I’ve embraced football per se. I don’t think I even saw a minute of the Giants losing yesterday, but I embrace the culture around it: comforting hearty meals and lazy Sundays. Who can hate that?

Seriously, when that top pic popped up on my computer screen, my stomach growled. This is right up my alley. Looks INCREDIBLE!! Thank you so much for posting. I’m sorry I’ll most likely have to wait until the weekend to attack this recipe!

Mmmmm. Summer just broke here over the weekend and I broke the crockpot out of the closet. I’ll probably use 1 carrot (and shred it) and add a teaspoon of cocoa powder, but this looks just about perfect. Of course, since I live alone, the football won’t exist, the chili and biscuits and accoutrements will go to work with me on Monday. …at which time I will ban all of my guys from being in my office for the rest of the day. Just sayin’….Body Shop…guys….chili….

This is not on the topic of chili, but I’ve wanted to ask for a while…. would you consider changing your link color in the articles? I like seeing the photos and whatnot that you link to but I find myself scanning the text with my mouse until it turns to a hand because I can’t see the links at all. As a designer I appreciate how nice the non-underlined gray looks on the sidebar but within the text it’s, for all intents and purposes, invisible. Just something to ponder that may not bother anyone but me!

Born and raised Texan, present! Nowadays, I’ll put anything BUT meat in my chili as I’ve gone vegetarian (we’re not all meat-eaters here!). That said, when I did eat meat, I made it most often with ground turkey and beans, so I’m not conventional. However, I’ve never been a big fan of kidney beans in chili…I used pinto with meat, and now use black on their own, but that’s just a personal preference. :) Those biscuits sound fantastic!!

I understand it when people want to be purists about their cooking. I really do. I believe in saying things like “Mexican-inspired chocolate cake” (when one adds cinnamon and powdered chilis to said recipe, for instance) instead of “Mexican chocolate cake”. However, when people do things like insist that REAL chili cannot have BEANS and then have no logical reason to back it up — that kills me. I believe that tradition is useful and gives us an educational base, but I also believe in branching out. Yes, I can be cranky about these things…!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Deb: I wish you didn’t have to ward off these sorts of arguments, but I adnmire your skill at doing so.

This recipe looks lovely, and it hits on one of my favorite comfort foods: soup served over bread. Each compliments the other, and it warms the hand holding the bowl in a most satisfying way.

Fabulous chili and photos, Deb! I was a little shocked by the sliced carrots, though. I have never seen carrots in chili, but my guess is that it adds a little sweetness? Anyway, this looks like the perfect Sunday football recipe (I love Sundays and football-although mostly for the food and atmosphere)!

Jacob is absolutely adorable…I LOVE the sweater vest! Keep dressing him in them while you can! :-)

I can *so* relate to the book-pulling and wants-to-eat-what-you-eat-but-won’t-let-you-feed-him stories! Our almost-one-year old is exactly the same.

For those who asked, I’ve used ground turkey in chili before and it’s great! Vegetarians could probably also try the veggie-ground-round, but you don’t need to cook it — you just add it in a bit later.

For more rise on your biscuits, consider: cutting the butter into chunks, then freezing it overnight (or alternatively, risk chopping frozen butter…always an adventure in kitchen drama). The juicey jalapenos are also affecting your rise…try mixing the dough, keeping it in the bowl…and chilingl the whole mass for an hour or two. Then, dump the dough out onto your counter, and gently fold like a business letter (i.e. laminated dough style). Make a few quarter-turns…and if desired chill again. OR cut and bake. It’s best if the oven is hotter than 425F…I suggest 500F when the biscuits first go in. Place on top rack of oven. After 5 minutes, turn oven temperature down to 450F. Also, it is good to move biscuits to bottom rack for last minutes of baking.

Ooooh, speaking of the book, Jenifer in Houston (who I met through comments on your iVillage site) and I have a plan that if you come to Houston or Seattle on the book tour, one of us will be flying to meet the other one and you! Or if you don’t come to either of those cities, we’ll be picking one to fly to – I can’t wait till it’s published!

Jessica — Aww. I hope to hit any and every city where people would want to see me. Really, I think when it’s time to plan it will be about where there seems like strong interest for me to show up. This all sounds very surreal — because oh right, first I have to write this book.

Yum yum yum! What a perfect dinner for a chilly night in Chicago! Just made this and added some zucchini in with the carrots. I didn’t have any jalapeno, so I put green onion in the biscuits. I also halved the recipe and it still turned out great! Just what I was looking for tonight!

I’m a student living in an NYU dorm, and we have a very “New York” sized kitchen. I hadn’t been inspired to do anything more than a quick sandwich or a poached egg tops until I saw this recipe after I came home today. I knew I had to make exactly this, and it ended up being the most perfect and delicious end to this soggy day. Thank you for you dedication to putting together such a beautiful site – you are such a source of culinary inspiration and confidence for me!

Sports Shouting — I kept hoping someone would get the 30 Rock reference. I won’t admit how long I searched online today for a video clip to link to, only to learn that Hulu.com (hang on, I am laughing too hard to continue) thinks that someone would pay for a premium membership to access it. Oh well.

Ha, I’m from Cincinnati – home of blasphemous chili! Good chili is chili you like, whether it has beans and carrots, or cinnamon and chocolate. But one thing’s for sure: there’s nothing better on a cold, nippy day than a hot bowl of chili (with cheddar biscuits on the side).

Lovely! Our son is about 6 weeks younger then your babe and he is the same way. Smashing food with his gums, and two little teeth, and wanting to feed himself (and can not do it at all) and likes finger foods.
I have going to have to try this chili if it means that a baby who “wants to be an adult” will eat it without hand banging and lips a pucker.
Thanks for sharing.

This looks fab, can’t wait to spring Chili Shortcakes on a group I cook for once a month. Can you please send weather appropriate to serving the dish? Setting record heat temps at the moment. (Yes, we’re in the US)

Funny..when I saw the first picture, I thought, hmmm, sloppy joes on a biscuit? Great Idea! Chili is brilliant too, and I love almost any vegetable I can sneak into it. I usually serve over rice or cornbread, but cheese biscuits beat that.

I agree with Annie, who suggested folding the sticky mass of dough a few times before patting it out to cut. It does give that laminated dough type of pouf to biscuits. At least, it works on my usual biscuit, which is the Dot’s Diner recipe on Epicurious.

OK, so it’s still nearly degrees here in Hong Kong, but everyone I know from the East Coast keeps posting and blogging about how they are wearing sweaters and making butternut squash soup and so I’m jealous. This looks very good, I might have to crank up the air conditioning and find a replay of football on the internet.

I’m from Massachusetts and my mom’s chili was the first thing I stirred as soon as I could reach the stove!! It’s what made me love food and cooking. Even yankees can make a mean chili. The biscuits look amazing. I will have to try some, maybe with parmesan since I can’t find cheddar in Italy.

Ah the football wife! Here in Australia I am what we call a “cricket widow”! But I don’t mind, as you said it gives me a chance to potter about and yes, cook!!
Great post- will definetly be trying this chilli
Bec xx

After 40 years of marriage chili is something I have not mastered. My husband always use to say my chili never tasted the same each time I made it. I will definitely try thus recipe. I do have a cream cheese cheddar biscuit with country ham recipe you may like. It’s an appetizer and would go great with chili for a football game.

As a native Texan, I believe live and let live…if you want whatever in your chili, put it in there. You are the one eating it. Biscuits are just a comfort. I think it’s great that you are feeding Jacob whatever you are eating, what a great way to get a kid to like something, but on a sad note my kid does not like cheese, though gradually getting him to eat it and it has to be melted. Yes he refuses to eat mac and cheese. Loves pasta with a little olive oil, Italian spices and garlic which is healthier anyway, right?

Thank you, I thought it was just me who didn’t understand the new Gourmet app! I miss the magazine, especially this time of the year. I used to anxiously await my Thanksgiving and Christmas cookie issues, tear :(

This Texan loves tomatoes in chili; wouldn’t serve it without them. The accompanying biscuits are a great alternative to fritos. As for embracing the sport of football I highly recommend Holly Robinson Peete’s book “Get Your Own Damn Beer, I’m Watching The Game.” In no time you too can love the game.

This is kind of a strange question, but when I was growing up, I always said I didn’t like chili. But I realized later, what I really didn’t like was the BEANS. I still try to eat around them if I can get away with it. That being said, would it be a total disaster if I left out the beans you think? Would I have to scale the liquid or something? I’ve always been afraid to make chili for this exact reason…I want to make what I like, but if it’s a complete catastrophe, I’m left with, well….a whole pot of “chili” that no one wants to eat.

I love chili. And I ALWAYS make mine with beans. I like the idea of the vinager added to this recipie. I will be trying that the next time I make a batch of chili. As for the biscuits, I have a pot of leftover split pea soup that would go great with these. I think I know what I am doing tonight. Yum!

Great post. :) You know what helps the football thing tremendously, IMHO? Start watching Friday Night Lights together. We get the sappy drama, he gets the exciting football games, both of us get the eye candy…the show’s gotten me more interested in Sunday games! That, and having a team to root for. (It didn’t hurt that I got a comfy Ravens sweatshirt out of it.)
Oh, and my husband’s a veg (well, pescetarian) so I don’t get to do the Sunday roast chicken or pot roast or beef chili…I’ll have to try this w/o the meat.

mmm I love chilli, and i love chilli with all these great additions….my mom’s chilli has beans, red pepper/green pepper…sometimes mushrooms, slices of garlic, and rotini pasta…

I tried the cheddar biscuits yesterday and they were so yumm and cheesy, though mine looked just like yours and didn’t rise as much as my biscuits usually do but i could care less….they tasted awesome!

Looks great! I just made standard buttermilk biscuits yesterday for breakfast and was thinking about other goodies to put in them. I also like cheese and corn kernels and bacon in cornbread with chili. I’ve made quite good vegan chili with the soy crumbles made by various companies. There are turkey versions of Italian sausage that I have used with great success. My usual recipe has ground beef and ital.sausage, diced tomatoes, plus a lot of weird things, from beer and red wine to mustard, horseradish and HP sauce if I have it. And lots of beans, sometimes black, kidney and garbanzo. Halloween at our house is chili and cornbread, with “classic” scary movies projected on a screen at the end of the porch. Munsters Go Home last year, I think. The Blob, Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc. It’s fun to see the Trick-or-Treaters stare…

And good on you for introducing “more interesting” foods early. I figured that babies in other places ate garlic early, so why not my kid? Hummus was a very early food at our house, perfect texture and with a scrap of pita to scoop it not _too_ messy…Mine is now about 6.5 and surprised me by getting excited at Costco this weekend b/c he found Brussels sprouts in the cold room and insisted we buy them. I do usually cook them with bacon and maple syrup, but still.

I’m a Texan with one of those heirloom chili recipes. And I must confess, it contains tomatoes and beans, and I love it that way! Most Texans I know make their chili with beans…I think it’s just a few overly-zealous meat-lovers that are causing the fuss.

These carrots and bell peppers, however, do make me a little more nervous… but all traditional chili aside I bet it’s delicious! I may even try that out–but never tell my parents about it, of course.

This was the first morning that it was cold enough to turn on the heater as I drove to work. Chili sounds wonderful right now. Thanks for the recipe. Biscuits seem like the perfect pairing, don’t know why I haven’t done it before.

So… any chance you’d be our live-in chef? No? Okay, well, I’ll settle for sending you a hearty-as-this-chili-sounds “THANK YOU!” for posting a wonderific new addition to my fall time meals. Our 21 month-old son is sure to love picking the beans out with his fingers, and the biscuits sound amazing.

I agree football watching is like attending your child’s soccer game (only the soccer game is shorter, much shorter). You get points for being social, interactive (good wife/good mom points) and you get to veg, or knit, or nap.

The chili looks delicious and the biscuits make me want to consider switching from chili and cornbread muffins (which is how we do it at my house). Are the biscuits really as easy as they look?

Love the ide aof a ladel of chili on top of a shorcake! Yum! And as for being a good football wife. I’m with you! This year I have made a pact with myself… no whining, and lots and lots of yummy football food. Gotta love tailgate food!

Fortunately for me, I love football, and tend to get very um… passionate about it. I’m the queen of the football party, and this chili will be making an appearance this season. (Once it cools down. Chili and 114 degree weather do not go together)

Ah yes, the spoon-striking/give-me-your-food-now-before-I-set-up-a-righteous-howl baby. I’ve got one, too. 13 months. Sounds like this chili is right up his alley! Let’s see if he will savor it as Jacob did or if some will end up on the walls with the whole spoon-striking business. :)

The best thing about chili is that is so very personal. When you make a pot of chili, you are serving up a bowl of insite into yourself. I’m from Texas and make mine with three beans (pinto, red, kidney) and multiple meats (beef, lamb, pork and if available venison) but I do limit the tomatoes and bell peppers and go really heavy on the onions and garlic. My mom swears to the addition of pepper (spicy) vinegar to help limit the (um) gas. And the cumin comment is also spot on – really adds flavor. Unfortunately my hubby can’t handle the heat so I don’t add much (jalapeno or chile pepper). And for the biscuits, I’d substitue some cornmeal (stone ground) for the flour. We love cornbread with chili and the mix sounds great. : ) Oh, and I love your site, stories and baby pics!

I’m also allergic to tomatoes, so I make a chili without them and increase whatever liquids I’m using. For a spaghetti sauce I sometimes use a puree of roasted red peppers and see no reason why it wouldn’t work in chili. For a different chili I add black beans, roasted corn and chunks of roasted winter squash, (usually butternut or sugar pumpkin.), though pumpkin puree might work as well.

Love this presentation. I got into art of making chili a bit last when when I was invited to a cookoff of sorts for the Super Bowl this past season. Which meant friends, several chilis and no contest really! You know how everyone worked forever to perfect their chili and yet the one thing that brought the most comments was my lime crema. It worked with all of them and well, hate to call it mine, I mean…sour cream, a bit of lime juice and some grated lime rind? But you must try it, that one itty bitty change made all the difference!

So now am dying to try this with the addition of that lime…there is definitely a chill in the air in Denver; it is chili time!

This looks beautiful and delicious! Luckily for me, my guy is as anti-football as one can get (pro-chili, though, thankfully. And few things make him happier than crispy things flavored with cheese! What can I say? He’s got good taste.) I totally feel your sentiments re: Gourmet. I miss Ruth Reichl’s gorgeous curls and smile most of all!

Oh wow! That looks so, so good! And BTW, feel lucky that your husband only watches football on Sundays. It’s become a 3 to 4 nights a week event around our house, and I can only say, “It’s a good thing I love to read, or it would drive me crazy!”

I was determined to be the same kind of wife! I actually found a love for the game, and now I can think of (hardly) nothing better than lazy football Sundays (I root for Giants, he roots for Jets), curling up on the couch and eating delicious food! My husband and I each make a couple of dishes and go nuts with eating all day – it’s the one day a week I don’t feel guilt over indulging (well, maybe just a little). This looks great!

I made the biscuits last night with my own chili recipe (using black eyed-peas and black beans). I was totally second guessing the recipe when I saw it only called for 2 tablespoons of butter and no milk or eggs, but they turned out to be SOOO good. I substituted plain yogart for the sour cream, and it was so incredibly moist. I love this recipe, it is hard to work with, but totally worth the end results. I think I will try them as drop biscuits next time.

Wow! This looks delicious. I have to say I’ve never eaten a really good chili but always though about it like “there must be a to-die-for chli recipe, somewhere”. Good candidate, this one. I’ll give it a try.

Wow, made this for dinner last night and it was so yummy!. I only used 1 and 3/4 pounds of ground beef and it still made 6 generous servings. I left out the carrot (in chili just sounds weird, sorry) and used pinto beans instead of kidney. It was delightful. But, the definite star of the meal was the biscuits – omg,they were delicious! I used light sour cream and just kind of formed them by hand instead of cutting them out. I also happened to run out of baking powder so subbed in more baking soda and some cream of tartar, they rose up perfectly and were light and fluffy. This meal will definitely be made again. And yes, you are right, it is perfect football watching food!

I am a newly-transplanted Texan and I have to say, this is so my kind of chili. I suppose those of us in Austin might have a different way of looking at it than others that live in the panhandle or up north in Dallas. But a Texan is a Texan right?

Chili Con Carne Not Sanctioned By Texans or Those With Texas Allegiances, I Now Take It Upon Myself To Sanction Thee!

I too have a new set of little hands to contend with, I am glad that you are mutli tasking on “little People level” and adults alike. I always enjoy your receipes and combinations. Please continue … ps gathering my receipe for the holidays these cream biscuits will get a test run; especially since I have to plan ahead with a 3 month old.

Just made this today and uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh sooo good. Your recipe came just in time too. My mother always used to make chili on the first cold day of fall, and just as soon as we got our first cold snap of the year your recipe turned up! It was my first try making chili myself but now I’m totally addicted. And the biscuits were just the perfect little cherry on top.

This is too funny! As a Texan, I saw the big chunks of carrots in your picture and immediately cringed. Then I saw your special note to people such as myself and cracked up. I don’t really take my chili all that seriously and, as other Texans have mentioned, don’t take offense to the addition of some tomatoes or beans (though I happen to prefer it without) and know plenty of Texans who make it that way. But the carrots and bell pepper I cannot abide.

I made thiis for dinner tonight and it was great! Thank you again. I also made the Indian vegetables fritters with asian sweet potato, white potato and portobella mushrooms. I love them. I plan on using them in a wrap. delish!!!

I feel I should chime in with my fellow Texans and reiterate that most of us aren’t as stubborn about chili as you’ve made us out to be. Among the unconventional things I’ve added to chili are tortellini, mushrooms, wheat berries, and grated sweet potato. To each his own, right? That said, now just don’t go messing with our barbecue!

What a timely recipe. Next week is National Chili Week. This sounds really good, but I’m leaving out the green pepper and carrots. Being a native Texan, I’m taking no chances with the “tar and feathers” by adding those two ingredients. The tomato alone is pushing the envelope. But the jalapeno biscuits will be a delightful change from the jalapeno cornbread that is often served here with chili.

mmmm…so excited about cool weather and chili time! this recipe looks soooo delicious. i should probably work on being a better football wife, i definitely lack enthusiasm when it comes to football season.;)

Made this chili tonight and husband said it was my best chili ever!
This recipe is huge, served four adults, three kids and two toddlers with about a third left over for later in the week. My advice is to not skip the carrots. They were a great color and crunch addition. Oi need to get some better or newer red pepper flakes because I used double the called for amount and it was tasty but not too hot. Next time I’m adding corn. The rangers may come after me!!

Erin, if you wanted a similar effect to the tomato paste, you could try using a sweet pepper paste instead. The Balkan version is called Ajvar and is usually made with either just the sweet peppers, or sometimes with eggplant and sweet peppers. I’ve used both versions to cook with for taste and thickening purposes. I note Amazon sells Ajvar, if you can’t find it anywhere else.

i took one look at that first image and wondered if my 15 month old, who also does not use a spoon, yet will not allow us to feed him from one would make an exception for something so tasty looking. glad to hear it’s toddler-approved! we will definitely try this out this weekend. the football, not so much.

This looks AMAZING! My second just turned one and refuses to be fed too. We use the pre-loaded two-spoon method: at the beginning of the meal, I load one spoon with food while he shovels the other in. After he’s half way through I just let him have at it. Good times!

Well, I’m not from Texas, so I can say with great sincerity that this chili looks fantastic. I do happen to enjoy a good football game or two of the weekend and have been known to shout at the TV a time or two. However, I would certainly take a time-out to make a big batch of this chili!

I must make this wonderful chili as well as the biscuits. The photos are just so good! Maybe I can have this for my husband while he watches his beloved Falcons! Men and football I do not understand it!

I’m putting a request in for an amazing Salmon burger recipe!!!!!!
I had a really great one with a wheat bun, arugula, and remoulade, and I wanna know what your take on a good salmon burger is!!!!!!!!!

This Texan ’bout died laughing at your disclaimer. It’s good that you put that in. I’m not opposed to beans in my chili, per se, but I think pintos will be my bean of choice. And I’ll second Ellicia and SandyH, and the others, who are generally opposed to carrots in their chili.

Ah ha! You’ve solved the football sunday (or in my household Thursday evening through Monday evening) conundrum. Chili making, bread baking, having your way in the kitchen fun day. Our kitchen is in the same general space as the couch and tv, so as to make me feel like my husband and I are hanging out, even if he is completely emersed into the game(s) and I am focused solely on a recipe. I implore you to try a white chicken chili with monterrey jack cheese next.

Deb, I love chili in all forms. Must have been that snap of fall this weekend, as you are just one of many who made the dish for supper. I applaud you for feeding Jacob foods that will expand his palate. Thai babies, Indian babies, etc. don’t eat Gerber, is what I always told myself. I believe all things in moderation but experimentation is good for young palates. My almost-eight-year old used to slurp up thai noodles as a toddler and loves most all foods now.

Oh boy, this is definitely on the Must Make list. We love football and chili equally in this house and usually have cornbread with it but these biscuits are inspired. I hope Jacob continues to eat anything you put in front of his little face! (except carpet lint)

This is perfect timing. I am just on the heels of a football chili batch EPIC FAIL! Bla… it was soooo bad! As soon as our new oven arrives next week I will be making this… because I gotta have those biscuits too.

Not too sure about the carrots, but otherwise this looks remarkably similar to my (Texan born-n-bred) family recipe. By the way, chili without beans is just meat sauce.
Will definitely have to try with those biscuits. Those look amazing.

My husband and I made this for dinner last night – absolutely delicious! Thanks for posting! He made the chili, and I made the biscuits. They didn’t rise very well, so thanks to @Rose for the tips on getting a better rise next time!

This chili recipe is sooo good and very easy to adapt! We didn’t have any beef or beans…I know the two main ingredients…so I substituted cubed chicken and little red potatoes. The result…empty bowls :-) For the biscuits I used a half cup of cornmeal (ran out of flour) and swiss cheese and they turned out pretty good! The taste was great, but the texture was a bit crumbly and they fell apart when we tried to cut them in half. Excellent dinner! Thanks for the great ideas!!

made the biscuits with my own chili last night, and I can’t believe how well this went over! I ended up getting 9 biscuits out of the recipe, but I just baked the 6 and froze the extras… so glad I did! when I woke up this morning the man who seemingly likes nothing was baking them up to take for lunch at work!
the best part is I found this recipe ncredibly quick and easy, and the ingredients were so convenient I feel like I could throw it together…that never happens. THANKYOU.

I had to laugh … I’m a football widow, too – though mine’s soccer! You know what I did? I jumped on board. I can’t force myself to watch it, but now I blog about my husband’s soccer research. Does that qualify me for some kind of football widow award, I wonder? ;)

I laughed at your story about Jacob and the books – I have 3 little boys, been there! My husband used to call it “re-setting the playing field” when we cleaned up the “whatever” that had been so carefully strewn about…

I usually serve cornbread with my chili (which is quite similar to this recipe, I used to read Gourmet perhaps I picked up the general idea for my recipe from the magazine), but those biscuits sound delicious.

Today is the perfect rainy Fall day for chili! Excellent choice! I’m substituting diced Roma tomatoes for most of the sauce, and black beans for the Kidney beans, and I cut the meat by half.

Anyone know if I can substitute plain Greek yoghurt for the sour cream in the biscuits? It works great as a topping for chili if you are out of sour cream (which I almost always am), but I don’t know if there are any differences baking with it.

ok, i made this yesterday and it turned out just amazing! we have the perfect weather in California today for eating chili: rain, thunderstorm, lightning.
i made quite a few modifications to the recipe: used 2 lbs ground beef, 1 red bell pepper, a lot more salt( i like my food SALTY), less paprika and chili powder(not by much though), pinto beans instead of kidney, juice from half a lemon instead of vinegar, and canned chunky tomato sauce.
i’m so glad i made it. turned out just perfect!
thanks Deb.

The picture looks so incredibly delicious!!
I tried it & followed it to a T
My husband ; who is of Indian decent; thinks its impossibly hot ( he thinks it smells and looks awesome; but difficult to eat due to the heat) and FREAKED when he saw I added 1/4 chili powder.
Did I use the wrong chili powder? Uh-oh?
????
What did I do wrong??? =(

I am a born and raised Texan, and while I’ll give you that we do a whole lot of things different from other parts of the country, I don’t think this is blasphemous I think it’s spectacular, it’s just two very different kinds of chili! Though I suppose living in Canada for the past year with a lack of tex-mex or real mexican food of any sort along with missing some fantastic bbq might have changed my tune a little bit!

I made both the chili and biscuits yesterday after 3 feverish days on the sofa with my 4 year old. Perfect comfort food and 2 happy families at the table, autumn storm outside and fireplace lit inside! Just what we needed!

I made this today for the fam (and mainly myself, of course) and it was really good! I had to really get used to the cumin in there though, holy cow. Just now, when my husband heated up some left overs the entire house started smelling of it again. I’ve never had cumin in chili and it’s not bad, just really different. The biscuits -rise or no rise (no rise in my case as well)- are incredible! We’re a family of 6 (granted one is also a baby) and we only got through about half of this, and I’m not complaining: yummy left-overs tomorrow!

Made this tonight, using 1.7 lbs mince (ground beef) and keeping all the other measurements the same. Next time I would add more heat, in the form of fresh chillies if I had any around, otherwise just add some more pickled jalapeno. But it’s delicious as is. The biscuits were so moist and light and flaky and utterly delectable that I balked at putting even half of one under a big ladle of chili on top. I did anyway, for the first serving, but thereafter put them only on top. I would sandwich the chili again only with day-old biscuits, toasted. Thanks for the recipes, Deb.

I made this today and it is incredible. I left out the carrots (I dislike them) and added some diced tomatoes and everything came out just fine. It was also inexpensive (I had most of the ingredients on hand and found ground chuck on sale) and easy. Love it, this is a great autumn and winter dinner, I’ll be making it again soon.

Also, there’s far more than 6 servings of chili in this – I’d say at least 8, if not more.

I made this the other night – massive hit! not sure what sort of chilli powder you used, but a 1/4 cup of my chilli powder meant that this was burning hot. The cheddar biscuits are so delicious! I made another batch the next due to popular demand! Thanks for the great recipe :)

why do i ever doubt you? every s-i-n-g-l-e thing i’ve made from your site has been received so well by my husband with a picky palate (and i don’t mean he won’t eat pickles, i mean he KNOWS what good food should taste like). he loved it. if anything, we’ll increase the heat a bit (maybe add tabasco? more chili powder? or as someone suggested green chilies or jalapeno?) but the flavor is wonderful. Thanks Deb, you’re the best-est!

Well, I made this Friday night for dinner. Wow!! It was soo good. My husband loved it. He made sounds while eating it that made me a little uncomfortable….and jealous, I think. Since it’s just the two of us, I froze half of it…It made way more than six servings since we served it over the biscuits rather than having bowls of it.

I just finished eating this. SO GOOD. We used half lean ground turkey and half 97% ground beef, wonderful.

I didn’t read all 232(!!) posts, but I saw some questions about ceramic/glass cooktops and don’t know if questions were answered but NEVER use cast iron on those stoves, you can ruin both the stove and the cast iron! A quick google search should answer any questions like “why?”.

Okay, so I am definitely in the same boat as you. Hockey season has begun so most evenings and weekends my husband is plugged into the TV. This would be the perfect dish since the recipe is easy enough that I won’t feel bad when he shovels in food at commercial breaks. Coq au vin is not sports friendly, this is. Can’t wait to try it.

Coming back to comment post eating…my husband said this was the best chilli he’s ever had. :) It was very, very good. I made a bunch of substitutions (black beans for kidneys, diced fresh romas for canned sauce, a bit less chilli powder since I wanted the kid to eat it too, one fresh minced jalapeno (seeds removed) instead of jarred, and used only half the meat, but the essential flavors remained the same. I believe the vinegar may be the key ingredient, I’d never tried that before and I make chilli fairly often during the cold seasons.

Oh, and Greek-style yoghurt CAN substitute for the sour cream in the biscuit recipe. I found somewhere online that said you can substitute 1:1, just add an extra teaspoon of baking powder. My biscuits rose slightly more than the ones in your photos and were very tender and delicious. I think if I make those again I’d double the shredded cheese, they were not quite as cheesy as I was hoping for.

I must be on a similar wavelength, because I made chili last weekend that was parallel to this recipe while watching (and shouting at) a baseball game. (Red Sox, muffled sob.) I was cleaning out the freezer to make room for this year’s garden harvest and hauled out a big package of ground venison – a gift from a hunter friend last year. So my chili used venison instead of beef, dark beer instead of vinegar, black beans instead of kidney, and roasted red sweet pepper instead of green. I confess to adding a bit of sugar too. So… exactly the same but with everything changed. But really yummy.

I made this yesterday and it was amazing!!! I was frightened by two things, the first being carrots and the second being the pickled jalapenos in the biscuits. But the carrots were delicious in the chili, who knew??? And I didn’t even miss the flavor of the masa flour that I normally put in my chili. As far as the pickled jalapenos are concerned, I grew up in the southwest and we never use pickled, just fresh. So, I used fresh ones from my garden that I seeded and they tasted super delish in the biscuits! Mine did not rise either, but they were fluffy and yummy and got a lot of praise from the family. Next time though, I’ll wait until it’s less than 90 degrees to make it :) Fall, please hurry yourself along!

This was a wonderful recipe! I took your advice and diced the carrots and the texture was perfect. I couldn’t find pickled jalapeños so I pickled a fresh one with apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar. The biscuits did not rise so much but they did not suffer for it at all. Everything was absolutely delicious and my husband was very happy.

Invited a bunch of friends with all their kids over this weekend for a bon fire. Our high temperature for the day was around 50 degrees. We were going to grill but decided because of the cool temps to make a double batch of your chili.I also made individual cornbreads* (they were easier) instead of the cheddar bisuits. Your chili was a winner! Lots of second helpings. All the kids loved it!
*The cornbread tastes exactly like what you get a Boston Market. It’s made by mixing together 1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix with 1 box of Jiffy yellow cake mix. Follow the directions for eggs and milk on the back of each box. It makes 8 mini cornbread loafs.(Use a “muffin” pan with the 8 rectangular mini loaf forms.)

Thank you, Deb! Another winner. The chili is my new go-to recipe. I skipped the green pepper, because I don’t like them, and added the carrot because I always add carrots to chili. I should have heeded your advice to use parchment when your cookie sheets are well-seasoned, because my biscuits were too brown on the bottom. And mine only rose as much as yours.

Deb, thank you for the wonderful photos which always convince me to broaden my culinary horizons! I am a Texan born and raised, but I grew up shamefully chili-deprived. My only two options were canned chili and my mother’s bland no-spice ground beef stew which she called “chili” (she and my dad are both mid-westerners and are terrified of even small amounts of spice). So needless to say, I’ve never really been interested in chili… like at all. But boy, these pictures won me over. I made a 1/2 recipe of it tonight, and even my super picky eater boyfriend ate a whole bowl! I even kept the carrots in since I’m trying to teach myself to like them, and I found myself actually looking forward to bites with carrot in them! I can’t believe I made my first and favorite chili from a recipe posted by a New Yorker! :)

I tried this over the weekend and it was awesome!! My boyfriend (who’s more picky than a toddler) loved it. I brought the rest into work and everyone who tried it thought it was amazing. The biscuits weren’t that great but that was my fault, I put them on the lower rack in the over and the bottoms burned but I will try again!! Thank you for this recipe, its been added to my ever-growing arsenal of things I can actually make

Your timing on posting this recipe was on the verge of mind-reader scary! Made it! Loved it! And those biscuits? A-mazing. I followed some of the commenters suggestions of folding the dough and achieved what appeared to be a nice height. Thank you for this inspiring website. Between you and my ATK cookbook I’m set and seriously considering donating the rest of my cookbooks which now just seem to be taking up prime tiny apartment kitchen real estate. I will, however, save a space for your book.

I just finished the rest of this chili for lunch, and although I think I make a pretty good chili, this one was better. So, so good. I’m sorry it is gone. I added some cayenne to increase the heat, used homemade tomato sauce, omitted the paprika, and otherwise followed your recipe. I never added a carrot to my chili before, but really liked it… the bell pepper too. I had some cornmeal that needed to be used up, so this time around I made cornbread, but next time those biscuits are all mine. Yum. Thanks for posting this!

An America’s Test Kitchen episode once suggested putting all the spices in and “roasting” them before adding in the onions and garlic (and I guess carrots). I started doing this and (I think) the flavor is enhanced. (Hard to know if it is, but it seems so to me, so I continue to do it this way ;-)

I can’t wait to try these biscuits (I love having biscuits (and par baked bread or rolls) in my freezer that I can just throw in the oven!)

THIS RECIPE WAS A HIT. I was inspired by the recipe to be a Good Football Girlfriend this past weekend. I thought I would have a bunch of leftovers, but we cleaned our plates and went back for more. I was especially proud of the biscuits, as I have never made them before & they turned out perfectly. The dough was for sure a sticky mess, but a little flour on my fingers solved that pretty quickly. I may have pounded out the dough a little too thin, as I had extra dough after I cut my 6 biscuits, but I just formed those into “dipping logs” for the chili and baked those as well!

Deb- I knew you would stumble into the art of baby food making!! congrats on the new-ish site. I would LOVE to see a pic of your freezer showing how you store all your baby food. I used to use the ice cube method and then put them into ziplocks, but i know you probably have a way cooler way of storing your yummy stuff! keep up the good food!

These biscuits were perfect with chili! I doubled the recipe and found the dough to be a bit dry (it never quite came together). I added a bit of milk (about 1/2 cup) and that seemed to do the trick. Thanks for the recipe!

Made the biscuits only as I had a good chili in the freezer. Substituted plain (undrained) yogurt and an extra teaspoon of soda; biscuit was moist and tasty. I imagine sour cream would have yielded a firmer outcome but, hey, I had the yougart in the fridge! As suggested, consumed in front of the TV during Sunday Night Football. Great!

Thanks so much for this recipe Deb! I made the biscuits with my own chili for a work chili cook off and they were amazing! I made them super little 1.25 inch rounds and they doubled in height in the oven. I had to substitute Greek yogurt as well for not having any sour cream and they were fluffy and delicious. Thank goodness I made a double batch and froze some for tonight. Next time I’m making the chili recipe and maybe I’ll win.

The weather here in FL is finally cooling down (okay, not really but the humidity is gone!) time for some fall flavors. Made the chili yesterday. As per your suggestion i diced my carrots and cut the meat by 1 lb. thinking 2 was plenty. I also added cinnamon to the spices, about 1 1/2 t and did not add any crushed peppers because my daughter is uber sensitive to anything spicy. I used my standing mixer to throw the biscuits together mixing just until the dough came together and added some chopped chives. The rise on the biscuits was not super high but they tasted great. my 4 year old devoured it all.
thanks Deb!

Hi. This looks really good and I’m really keen to try but just a question about the biscuits. Do you mean ‘sift’ the first 4 ingredients rather than ‘whisk’? Not sure what you mean about whisking? Is it maybe an Americanism that I’ve missed? We don’t really do football (unless you mean soccer) here in the UK but loving any excuse for snacks :-)

Just made this for dinner with some slight tweaks-and it turned out amazing. As a life-long bean hater, this actually made them palatable. My biscuits didn’t turn out great, but that was my own fault-lack of enough sour cream led me to use buttermilk instead, which led to them becoming slightly spongy drop biscuits-still delicious piled with chili! Can’t wait for dessert…the apple & plum pie above. Thanks for making my Saturday!

Making this recipe today for my husband. Am mid-way through, laptop happily perched on my countertop while I work though the steps. Currently, the meat is cooking in the onions, carrots, and garlic and just smelling it gives me a MAJOR olfactory-gasm.

Eh, forget all the Texan rules about chili. Coming from a die hard Texan, this chili was FANTASTIC! Oddly, my grocery store was out of green peppers so I subbed in 2 poblano peppers. I think that could be a perm suggested substitute because DANG they were good. And I don’t like green pep’s all that much so it worked out perfectly. Thank you!

My roommate and I are first-year grad students, and pretty much the only time we have to cook a good, full breakfast meal is on the weekends. We made the biscuits this past Saturday, and they were SO amazing. We had monterey jack laying around so we subbed that for cheddar and skipped the jalapenos. I like my biscuits high and fluffy rather than flaky, and these were perfect; they will definitely become a regular. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

I made a huge pot of this chili for our housewarming party in Brooklyn this last weekend, and it was a huge hit! My roommate and I are making the biscuits today to eat with the leftovers, which will complete the dish! I am looking forward to trying these biscuits, I am a fan of ANYTHING with sour cream.

This was a really good, easy meal…delicious despite the fact that I was out of cumin, oregano, and green peppers. In lieu of tomato sauce I chopped up a couple of cups of late-harvest tomatoes from the backyard and threw them in.

I made these biscuits alongside my favorite chili recipe. I panicked when I pulled the biscuits out because they looked giant and thought I should have rolled them thinner and made 12 biscuits instead of 6. But once I tasted them I was sold. They are light and fluffy and delicious and I easily ate two! I subbed some chopped scallion for the jalapenos and managed to get 7 large biscuits out of the dough.

This chili was sooo good! I made a 1/2 recipe for my boyfriend and myself and I still had leftovers enough for 3 days of lunches! I skipped the onion and bell peppers but I did include the carrots. I’m definitely making this recipe again when it gets colder, maybe even a full recipe!

I make a chili much like this one. No idea where the recipe came from anymore, but a couple of things I’ve played with, with success: ground turkey instead of beef and the juice of one whole lime on the turkey just after mixing in the spices, but before adding anything else.

I have never really understood the beer and chili connection. I have had friends take a couple of cans of Wolf Brand Chili and add beer to it to make it taste a little bit better. Our chili recipes are fairly similar with the exception of the beer and adding carrots to the chili. I definately want to try adding the carrots and beer to my next batch of chili.

Made this the other night and it was fantastic! I didn’t let the peppers cook long enough so they weren’t as tender as I would have liked, however, it hardly detracted from the taste at all. The biscuit/chili mix is brilliant. Totally worth the mess of eating like an open-faced sandwich with the biscuit just about drowning in the chili.

Just made this tonight!! Although since its about midnight, I can’t justify baking the biscuits. That will be a project for tomorrow. I think next time, I’ll add some corn in there too, just to up the veggies count – im a first-year grad student (i.e. no time!!), so any way to get more vegetables in there is probably a good thing. Thanks, this is absolutely delicious and perfect for a fall weekend!

Thank you for this biscuit recipe! The timing was perfect. I was looking for another recipe to adapt to gluten-free…to use with sausage patties for breakfast sandwiches! (Gotta get the kid to stop eating the on-the-run wheat options!) It was an overwhelming winner! I keep some in the freezer for myself now, too! SO GOOD! Keep ’em coming!

This looks delicious! I can’t wait to make my big batch of chili. Unfortunately I went to a big southeastern football school and usually spend my weekends watching football and missing out on the cooking.

I used to do my biscuits with a pastry blender, but alton brown suggests freezing the butter, then grating it in with a cheese grater and kind of tossing it with the flour until some of it works its way in. Its now my #1 way to make biscuits (though I still use the pastry blender for, you know, pastry :) ).

Crazy good! I added some diced tomatoes and extra beans to stretch it some.. then doubled the biscuit recipe. Served it to the guys for MNF meal and ended up with a clean pot. Thanks for another amazing recipe!

Yum! Made this today and I love it! The biscuits were my favorite part. Since i am the only chili-eater in the house right now, I need to wait for my dad to come over later and tell me what he thinks!!

I made the chili and biscuits last night and we really enjoyed it. The only thing I think I’d do next time is drain the meat before adding the liquids. It’s HIGHLY possible I started with too much oil and that may have been my problem, but other than it being a little oilier than I think it should have been (I solved the problem by serving through my spider ladle) it was DELICIOUS! And the biscuits were super yummy this morning with scrambled eggs.

I’ve been trying to find a good chili recipe for a while and this one has definitely jumped to number 1! I did make some adjustments though. I guess I prefer a tomato-y-er, sweeter chili so I added a whole can of chopped tomatoes plus somewhere between a 1/4 to a half cup of tomato paste. I also added some beer which I think should be a requirement for all chili. It gives it such an amazing flavor, try it!

I’m so glad I came across this! We have a chili cook off tomorrow for our church Halloween activity and I was going to use my dad’s recipe, but the ingredients in his get pretty pricey, but this looks like so yummy and easy to make! We’re recent transplants to Austin TX so hopefully we won’t be run out of town for our nonTtexas chili!

I made this chili last night. It turned out delicious! I ended up adding a lot more liquid than called for in the recipe – a little extra beef broth and added about 3/4 cup of good dark beer. Turned out great, but next time I would probably just reduce the meat to 2 lbs as you suggested. The biscuits were AWESOME. I live at about 5400 ft, and didn’t have to change anything. I actually reduced the baking powder slightly. Overall, perfect late fall/winter meal. Thanks for posting!!!

Texas girl here and while I found the carrots and green peppers not quite kosher for Texas chili, I decided to go ahead and try the recipe as is. I did shred the carrots with a vegetable peeler and then chop them a little with a knife, so they sort of melted into the chili, adding a little sweetness, which was nice. I also put the green peppers in at the same time so they cooked down more. It really makes a good chili and I’m glad I brached out from my usual recipe. Always nice to have a variety.

Somehow, I ran out of jalapenos (which could be grounds for expulsion from the state!) so I used green (hatch) chilis instead. It was a great substitution! It also made me think that you could use Pepper Jack cheese and get 2 ingredients in 1.

Just love your site!!
This looks delicious too, I live in the Netherlands and have a friend from Texas who will visit soon. I am going to try this a few times and make it for him then, wonder if he likes it!

Okay, first thing I’m from Texas…and I enjoy beans in my chili. There I said it. Which recipe did you like best this one or the red bean chili? I’m dying to make chili because it’s 50 degrees out and I want to make it before it becomes 85 again. Which is very likely with the way Texas weather goes.

I just finished making/eating this dish and it was amazing! My boyfriend and his roommate loved it. We’re actually vegetarians so we substituted the beef broth for veggie broth and the ground beef for soy ground beef – it was still amazing. Thanks!

A cautionary tale:
Make sure that your spice jars are clearly labelled. ALWAYS! Long story short, I used cayenne in place of about half of the chili powder, and the only way to use the chili was to make huge batches of burritos, empanadas, and the like, and use the chili as a seasoning. It was just unbearably spicy. Such a shame, because the biscuits were great and the chili seemed like it would have been delicious. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself though.

made the chili tonight for dinner. i cut the ground beef down to 2.5 lbs and added a can of black beans in addition to the kidney’s. i topped my bowl with sour cream and grated Gouda cheese. the flavor of the cheese complimented the chili nicely!

This is the same recipe my mother made for years! She was the only one I ever knew who put carrots in chili, and we love it that way! I did tweak the recipe a bit, since I’m a chili freak and can’t help ordering chili in any new place we go to eat, and over the years have only found 3 that I even bothered to duplicate.
The only difference is that I add triple the cumin, I no longer use tomato sauce since I’ve found that tomato juice has a richer flavor, and I use black beans now instead of kidney beans.I add vinegar, too, but occasionally I like to add a different kick, and use a good ale instead, about a cup will do, then you don’t need the extra broth.
BTW, LOVE your site, I’ve gotten a lot of great recipes from you that are now family favorites! Oh, and ’round here, it’s Pittsburgh chili!!!

It is not fair for you to post recipes like this when I don’t have a houseful of ingredients to make it RIGHT NOW! I have been searching for a good chili recipe, and this one sounds fab. And the biscuits… oh how I want one of those biscuits. Can’t wait to make these!

This is a great recipe! I love the addition of carrots to chili – add some healthy veggies and a nice texxture. I played around with the amounts a little and only used about two pounds of beef and some tomato juice as I was not going to serve the shortcake style and wanted thinner chili. The biscuits were awesome!

I’m a longtime lurker/fan, who’s been forced to come out of hiding to comment on this recipe because it is so, so wonderful! I’m also a lifelong resident of Texas (a native South Texan, actually), currently residing in Austin. In other words, I know my chili. And I know a bit about savory, rib-sticking, heart-warming food.

This recipe is, in a word, AMAZING. My boyfriend (also a native Texan) appeared a bit skeptical as I assembled the ingredients, but he practically *inhaled* a huge bowl (even though we’d already eaten dinner, and even though it was nearly midnight)! The flavors melded perfectly and produced what I believe to be the BEST bowl of chili I’ve ever had. My boyfriend agrees that it’s among the best he’s tasted, though he would like to raise the heat level even more than I did. I love the simplicity of the preparation and, as others have mentioned, the ease with which you can individualize the recipe.

I used coarse chuck (which broke down very nicely) & reduced the meat by 1 lb, since we do like our chili a bit “saucy”. The recipe still yielded PLENTY, and the consistency was just what we desired. I diced the carrots instead of slicing, as recommended, which really seemed to help them integrate well. I also added an extra TBS of minced garlic (we are garlic fiends), one chopped serrano pepper, and an extra 1/2 TBS of red pepper flakes. This yielded a chili that was not extremely spicy at first taste, but definitely had a bit of heat on the finish. In other words, PERFECT (in my opinion).

This was the first time I made biscuits from scratch, and the results were beautiful. I was so proud! I mixed the butter in by hand & got a very nice rise. I loved watching the cheese ooze out as the biscuits turned golden. These are highly addictive! I think next time I would like to add a *tad* more cheese, perhaps an extra 1/4 cup?

I’ve been a serious cook for 40 years – and come from a family of serious cooks. For most of my life, my favorite reading has been reading cookbooks that TALK to you. My niece, who’s father is the best home cook I know, passed your site around. My daughter (who follows our family’s foodie nuttiness) told me she lives by your site. I haven’t had time to deal with this new technology. I blog, twitter and fb for my work — but I couldn’t transition. Till now. DD is home and cooked the chili w/biscuits for the Sunday Patriots game.(All we needed was snow and it’s coming). The chili is outrageously de-li-cious– and I don’t LIKE chili! I’ve just spent my morning reading your site and laughing out loud (a welcome sound). Your recipes are solid, creative and really good reading. I’m going to twitter to look for you now.

I just tried this recipe for my DH and his friend while they watched the Jets &Steelers game, and they loved it! I didn’t want to open a huge catron of beef broth only to use 1 1/4 c., so I poured a bottle of lager instead, and I added some black beans too. It was really good with the biscuits and very hearty! I recently came across your site, and I’m so glad I did! It would be great if you could add a category in your index called “winners” or something so us readers know which ones we should really try right away :)

Hi! I tried this recipe this past weekend when my boyfriend and I didn’t feel like venturing out for dinner. It turned out wonderfully! We made about a half batch of chili (still had lots of left overs!) and the full batch of biscuits. We omitted the beans, which made it more like a stew, but it still turned out great. Also, we didn’t have any jalapenos on hand, so they were just cheese biscuits, but they were still awesome. The left overs have definitely staved off the ridiculously cold weather we’ve been having in Boston.

I am going to try to mimic this tonight with some garlic cheddar biscuits I have left over and some chili have have left over in the freezer… We shall see…If you want to check out how it goes, I’ll post it in the next few days.

Yes, I am new to your site, a friend told me about it. I am enjoying reading the blog and tried my first recipe. The Chili, I thought it was good, but I loved the biscuits.The recipe did not call for draining the beef, which I did.

I made this last week as a throw-together-one-pot dinner for my dad and my husband. I left out the beans (the healthiest part, of course) because both my husband and I have this anti-kidney bean thing from childhood. Also, I confess, I couldn’t find any high quality ground beef, so I used turkey instead. No worries, the chili was still deelish! It was so well-seasoned that nobody even noticed the difference until I mentioned it. I didn’t have time to make shortcakes, so it just happened in bowls the old fashioned way, but everyone seemed happy with that.

And those BISCUITS. I ate SEVEN. Not good for my post-baby hips, but totally worth it. Even perfectly good reheated the next day. I guess the cheese kept them super moist? I’ll have to be very careful about making these again, they’re just too good. Thanks Deb!

I made this the other night when my boyfriend was coming from Canada (to the UK) and was extremely jet-lagged. As an English boy I had to teach him what biscuits were, but he absolutely LOVED them! And they really work so well with this delicious chilli! I froze some of the pre-formed biscuits as you suggested because I didn’t think we’d eat them all, and I had quite a bit of chilli leftover which I cooked up the following night with the biscuits and, interestingly, the biscuits were much larger and fluffier after being frozen! Don’t know whether anyone else has found this before but I thought it was quite interesting! I now made another batch and froze them for whenever I’m in a hurry (and hungry!!)

mmm… just made cheddar biscuits. used the whole package of sour cream I bought but TASTY! didn’t use peppers because I don’t like spicy and besides I didn’t have any on hand, but still good! They definitely don’t look like yours though… in fact, they look exactly like Red Lobster’s!

Googled “ground beef” on your site last night and this is what I found… I am in heaven! It was hailing and there was lightning and thunder and I was so happy to be in my little bubble just “throwing together” a few ingredients to make, not only homemade chili, but biscuits, too! Delicious! Love this recipe! Turned out so well and I was tooting my own horn ALL night. :)

Yuuummmmmmm… LOVE the biscuit. I realized I like the creamy taste of mild cheddar better than sharp cheddar, so I made it according to your recipe except: substitute mild cheddar for sharp cheddar, used minced garlic instead of jalapenos, and sprinkled some shredded cheese on top of the biscuit right out of the oven.

I just dropped the sticky dough onto sheet and pat it down. Got 9 2.5-3in biscuit. It didn’t rise (maybe cuz I put everything in a food processor?), but it was chewy and soft and cheesy and TASTY! Thanks for the recipe <3. Omnomnomnom

This chili would have been great if it wasn’t so greasy. Just looking at the grease made my stomach turn. So pissed because I prepared this dish with the hope that it would be healthy for my family. Its NOT!!!!

There is a stand at my local farmer’s market that sells bison meat. It’s fantastic quality and I have gotten into the habit of using bison meat over beef. I was wondering, are there are any changes in the ingredients or in instructions like cooking time that should be made if I use bison meat?

I have made this recipe several times and love it, especially with the biscuits (but I’m making it with baked potatoes tonight). I think it is too greasy and beefy with that much beef, though, so I always use about a pound of beef and add some bulgur wheat to add texture. Works for us!

Mmmmmph this was amazing, I made it tonight. Added cinnamon and cardomom to the chili for a more Mexican-y flair – and the biscuits turned out wonderfully! I’d never heard of them, we’re more about scones in New Zealand, but I’m definitely going to make them often now :D.

I make this all the time (the chili and the biscuits), and I love it so much. I usually make it as instructed (sometimes adding another can of beans; I love hearty chili), turn off the heat and let it come down to nearly room temp, then refridgerate it. The fat will rise and I spoon it off, then stick it back on the stove ’til it’s warm and bubbly again. This adds several hours to the preparation time, but it cuts way down on the grease/fat level. This is a perfect, perfect meal for a gray, rainy day OR a bright, crisp fall afternoon.

I have made this several times and love the bumped up flavor all the spices add. I swap one tablespoon of regular chili powder for chipotle chili powder, but go easy on the pepper flakes if you do so: it adds a lot of kick!
I’ve swapped corn for green pepper when I didn’t have any, and it is delicious – crunchy and sweet.
A previous reviewer mentioned they didn’t miss the corn flavor from masa – I have tried it on this chili and it’s great! I mix 1/4 to 1/2 cup masa flour with 1/2 cup warm water and add at the last 10-15 minutes of simmering. Thickens it up.

I’ve made this twice. The first time…way too hot. But that was my fault…I used half regular and half chipotle chili powered. Second time I just used a Tbs. of chipotle chili powder and it was AMAZING! This will be my go to chili recipe from now on. This is the first site I check when I’m looking for a new receipt. Trying your spanakopita recipe tomorrow!

I made a double batch of this recently, with buttermilk cornbread instead of the biscuits. I omitted the pepper flakes because I was serving this to my young children, but it was still really tasty, and I switched out a couple of the green peppers for red ones. I think this is the quintessential chili recipe (take that FWIW–I’m from NYC) and it was a HUGE hit with my family.

i made the biscuits to go with my 3 sisters stew, which is similar to chili but with butternut squash. i think i like the biscuits more than my stew, which is a dish i look forward to every fall. these biscuits are just so delicious.
i don’t have a biscuit cutter, so i simply formed 6 biscuits by hand and dropped them on the baking sheet. other than that, and leaving out the jalapeños, i made the recipe as is. so simple and delicious.

I absolutely love this recipe, and have made it several times now – it’s the perfect meal!

My own modifications: instead of 2 cans tomato sauce, I do one can sauce, one can diced tomatoes, and one can paste. I also drain the excess oil from the meat, then throw some beer in to reduce before adding tomato. And I cut back the amount of meat by about a third, and add 2 or 3 kinds of beans, and/or corn instead of extra meat. I like the overall consistency, which is a bit thicker and heartier.

I like the carrot, though I keep the pieces pretty small. I’ve also tried substituting mushrooms, different peppers. (I also bump up the spices, as someone else mentioned.) All of it works fine – your template recipe though is fantastic, and very versatile! I haven’t been able to screw it up yet!

The biscuits work pretty well – mine don’t rise too much either, but they taste great. My mother makes buttermilk cheddar biscuits that rise well, I’ve thought of trying to experiment and find a middle ground, but these are so tasty, I haven’t bothered yet.

The woman ahead of me at the Whole Foods meat counter (97th and Columbus) orders 3 lbs. of ground chuck. So do I, but I pay no mind. She glances at my shopping list and says, “oh! are you making chili?” “Yes!” , I say. she adds, “from Smitten Kitchen?” “YES!” She then added that it was a great recipe (I’ve not made it yet) and super easy.

Who would have figured we’d both dig a year into the archives for this one and end up at the meat counter, two strangers bonding over 85% grass fed ground chuck.

this sounds delish and just what I’ve been looking for. While I’m a Texan through and through and we don’t put beans in our Chili. Well with this economy I put beans in a lot of things I never have before. So thank you for share and on behave of all Texans everywhere I apologize for those of us who got so carried away and made a big deal out of a pot of chili.
Have a great weekend, and enjoy your Sunday.

OMG that chili looks soooo good!! I love chili any time of the day and I can’t wait to try out your recipe. The cider vinegar ingredient really caught my eye – I have not seen this before and wonder what they does to the taste – only way is to try it with and without.
I have been to many chili cook offs locally and am still amazed at the diversity of chili. To me a chili is not complete without kidney beans and a bit of heat – all of which you have in your recipe. (I’ll just have to pass on the sour cream – but the cheddar biscuits are heaven :) ).
Thanks Deb. Take care

Made the chili tonight, and it was delicious! As spicy fare doesn’t light my fire, I cut the chili powder to 2 tbsp, and also made it chunkier by only using 1 can tomato sauce, and subbing the other for a can of diced tomatoes. It definitely hit the spot!

One of the things I love about Deb’s recipes is that she provides the basic framework, and you can adapt it to what suits you (within reason, of course). I only made the biscuit this time. Someone else already mentioned this, but I was out of sour cream, so I substituted with plain Greek Yogurt. I also had to add a little bit of whole milk to get to the sticky consistency. I also only had Italian cheeses on hand (mozzarella, parm). Given the milder cheeses, the biscuits did not taste super cheesy. I spread some basil pesto on it, and it was a very nice complement. I also used whole wheat flour … it was still very fluffy in the middle. Thanks for another great recipe.

Just made both the chili and a version of the biscuits for my boyfriend and roommates last night and they were enthralled.

I say a version of the biscuits, because, well, I hadn’t initially planned on making them (who makes biscuits from scratch on a week night?!), and so all sorts of substitutions occurred. YET, they were still absolutely delicious. Here’s what I did:
1) Nixed the canned jalepeños (didn’t have any)
2) Substituted fairly spicey pepper jack for the cheddar (didn’t have any chedder)
3) Substituted a 7oz container of Fage 2% greek yogurt plus a splash of water for the sour cream.

I assume that these substitutions also made the biscuits a bit healthier, though they certainly didn’t taste that way. My boyfriend said that they were the best biscuits he had ever had. : )

Chili was delicious as well, though I think 3 pounds of beef was a bit overkill! Were I do make this again I would make the following changes:
1) Use 1.5 lb ground beef
2) Use 2 15 oz cans kidney beans
3) Add 1 15 oz (or maybe even a 30oz!) can of diced tomatos, preferably fire-roasted.

This is some seriously delicious stuff! I have a pot simmering on my stove right now. Finally found my go-to chili recipe, hurray!!! Next time I’ll throw my carb cares to the wind and make those biscuits….

Best chili I have made to date! The biscuits were ok, but I found mine didn’t rise much either. I did sub out the kidney beans for black beans, I cut the oil down to 1 tbsp, and did a small dice for the carrot. Thanks for the great recipe!

Two years ago when my husband and I were still newlyweds, we tried our very first chili recipe together. We used your recipe then and we still use it today. Neither of us have ever considered using another recipe. We use turkey but other than that we don’t change a thing. It’s perfect.

This chili now appears regularly on our menu, and everybody loves it. I’ve doubled it before (and it freezes really well), and I’ve found that you can use the same amount of meat in the doubled batch, and it turns out great. I sometimes add a little more than the 3 pounds, but not much. I brown the meat separately so I can use a slotted spoon and leave the fat behind – still tastes great. I also use red peppers – is that a California thing? Green peppers are rarely used here, at least in Northern California. It’s as if someone discovered the red ones, and no one ever looked back. Which I’m happy about, because I always hated green peppers. The biscuits are, well, like crack. If I made the chili without the biscuits, I’d face a mutiny. I like to keep a batch in the freezer, ready to go – they are just the thing if someone stops by for a glass of wine. I think I can now make them in my sleep. Thanks for yet another great recipe.

I made this for a superbowl party yesterday, and it was an absolute hit! Making this chili is a little more time consuming than the usual chili that I make, but it was SO worth it. I think this might become my go to chili recipe. The biscuits were pretty tasty, too. I’m hoping that the leftovers today are even more delicious!

Due to restrictions in my larder, i Made the biscuits with half cup whole wheat flour and whole yogurt, roasted green chilies, and a blend if cheddar, smoked and plain mozzarella. They came out AWESOME!!!!! Can’t wait to try them with chipotles!

This has officially replaced my Dad’s recipe as our new household favourite. I used corn instead of carrots and it was delicious. Might try a red-green pepper combo next time for colour. As for the biscuits, I made them with whole wheat flour and they were great. This is a new go-to! Thanks Deb :)

I return to report that I made the biscuits again, this time with cake & pastry flour, and they were WAY better that with whole wheat! Lighter and fluffier as one would expect. Another thing… got most of the ingredients mixed and prepared when I realized I was short a 1/2 cup of sour cream… got imaginative and substituted with the only other dairy I had in the fridge, a strange concoction of skim milk and cream cheese… and they still turned out GREAT. I share this only to reassure those intimidated by baking that it usually need not be an exact science :)

Made these as is – the chili was absolutely spot-on. The biscuits were made with half sour cream and half cream, but they were a little stodgy in the middle and left something to be desired! I don’t think all that cheese was really worth it.

I just finished making this, and while I planned for the pot to last me a week, it may not last that long, if my sporadic tastings were anything to go by!

My own alterations included adding a bit of coffee, cocoa powder, and cayenne. I know it’s not proper chili etiquette, but I like the smoky quality of the coffee/cocoa and a little extra spice. Like a lot of the other commenters, I diced the carrot finely instead of slicing, and I do think I prefer it this way.

Only had time to make the biscuits tonight, and wow are they worth it! Wasn’t sure about using pickled jalapenos, but they offer a more subtle flavor and don’t disrupt the creamy texture of the cheesy-sour cream biscuit. My husband was raving halfway through his first bite. I haven’t found a smitten recipe that’s underperformed yet, and this was no exception!! Keep ’em comin :)

Also wanted to add that they rose up perfectly! About an inch and a half thick. Yum! For what it’s worth, I was taught to press and lift the biscuit cutter — don’t twist — and that helps with the layers rising, if anyone’s having issues.

My children have asked for this chili around three times of month for the last two years. Pat yourself of the back, Deb! My daughter is an extremely fussy eater with ever changing taste buds. And thanks!

I just finished making this chili with fresh ground elk. It is so delicious!! I used just over a pound of meat and found that I liked the proportions since I wasn’t doing the biscuits. I followed the recipe on the stovetop until adding the spices. I transferred the meat and vegetables to the crock pot went back to the recipe and let it simmer on low for a few hours. I’m looking forward to dinner tomorrow after it’s marinated overnight!

I have cornbread muffins waiting to be eaten in the freezer…this looks like it would be a good companion, although I’m open to suggestions :)
Any idea if this would be good with ground turkey instead of beef?

Even though I love all things hot, I would decrease the amount of hot pepper flakes – I put in a little less than a teaspoon, and still my mouth is burning! Fine for me, but I wonder if my teenager would eat it.

This is one of the best recipes – those biscuits – oh my Lord! And I’m a southerner and know some good biscuits…these were so easy to make and so perfect in texture, fluffiness, just the right amount of moisture and density. Perfect. I did some slight variations on the chili since I usually do my own recipe, but this was also delicious. Again my boyfriend now heralds me as the best cook after this meal…over his mother! ha. Cannot wait to try more recipes.

You are a recent and welcome addition to my recipe resources. I was looking for a great recipe for Chilli and I am glad I came across your site. This is absolutely fantastic and just what I need with the novel addition of the biscuits. Thank you.

Thanks for this! The flavors of the combination of these cheesy biscuits and the chili really work well!
A couple comments though: the proportions of chili to biscuit is way off. I would say this makes enough chili for at least three batches of biscuits (not a problem as one can always freeze for next time.)
I think way more beans than 1 19 oz can are called for: i used 30 oz and it seems about right.
Two questions: when you say Chili powder do you mean powdered chili or a chili powder that has numerous ingredients in a blend? And what are your feelings about substituting strained tomatoes for the sauce in a pinch?

Hi — Yes, you are right about the chili: biscuit ratio and I will add a note to warn people going forward. Re, chili powder — I meant the blend of spices. I always think chile = chiles, just the peppers; chili = i.e. the dish, which uses a blend to season it. Hope that helps.

My family has always adored my chili; more beans in proportion to meat and more liquidy this one. I’ve never liked it to make chili dogs. However, yours makes great chili dogs; I actually prefer this to mine for everyday eating but my sons still ask for mine. This week, however, we are going with your version. I took your idea and minced the carrots, which makes the texture more consistent. I haven’t made the biscuits–just put sour cream and cheese on the chili.

I just made this chili to take to Sunday’s Oscar party. I’ll freeze it until then, and reheat in the crockpot. This is the first time I’ve made a recipe that actually looked like the photo when it was done! Yum!

This is my go-to chili recipe (and I have test a ton of them)! It has the right combination of spices. Whenever I see a new chili recipe I compare the spice amounts to this one and make adjustments to ensure maximum deliciousness.

I doubled the recipe, only had one tub of sour cream, which is less than two cups. The biscuits were not really sticky, more just barely tacky. I baked off a few to see if they would be okay that way and they were fine, in case anybody else runs into this issue. Also I rolled them into balls and flattened them down instead of cutting them out. Also fine, no scraps.

Just made the biscuits with 2% Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and though I have nothing to compare them to, I’d recommend the replacement! Also cut them into squares instead of circles — like Sarvi says, no scraps (also I don’t have a biscuit cutter!). Can’t wait to try the chili! Thanks Deb!

I am a southern girl, but I’ve never in my life made a biscuit I thought was any good. Until now. These biscuits are delicious! I used half whole wheat pastry flour and full fat sour cream (maybe my attempts at “lightening” biscuits in the past are why I never liked them!). I also cut into squares. Amazing! Oh, the chili is good, too!

Wow this is the perfect chili recipe I’ve been searching for. I used a 28oz can tomato puree and coarsely ground 2 small chuck spencer roasts in my food processor. Perfect. I doubled the biscuit recipe and rather than rolling the dough, patted balls of dough into 1/2 to 3/4 inch rustic biscuit shapes. Rustic looks good with the cheese bits and the peppers sticking out. I got about 20 (probably smaller than the original recipe intends – but I’m ok with that. Gives my guests more flexibility :-)

Question…. Do you think this would work using sheep milk yogurt instead of sour cream? My son is allergic to cows milk bur can have sheep and goat milk. The plain sheep milk yogurt is the closest thing I can find to sour cream.

I was so excited about this chili recipe, but tried it tonight and it was actually pretty flavorless, other than the heat from the chili powder. Not sure what I did wrong! Maybe it was altitude — I’m at ~9600 feet. Ended up adding a bunch of things (more salt, garlic, cumin, pepper flakes, lime juice, a sprinkling of sugar), all of which gave it more flavor but not the depth I was hoping for. Maybe I can try it again and I’ll find the magic the second time!

lovely family dinner during a recent trip to MN- made it with your jalepeno cheddar scones without the jalepeno- AKA Mom’s cheese biscuits- and breakfast apple granola crisp. I was oohing and aahing over baby Jacob pics.

Yes your chilli con carne recipe brought back memories of Gourmet America even though I live in little ole New Zealand. I loved the Gournet magazine and in a cookbook I wrote with my wife adapted that recipe. But I remember it had treacle and chocolate in it? As I am a football( rugby) devotee ( X commentator) the comments about NFL hit a chord !! Luckily my wife is an X international hurdler so we both love sport. We live in Gibbston Valley Central Otago and although it’s summer here it is raining and we need rain. So chilli tonight.

I have not made the chili but I have now made the biscuits twice. Great biscuit recipe – light, tender, impressive rise and so tasty. Better by leaps and bounds than the Red Lobster cheddar biscuits. I like your caramelized onion and gruyere biscuits, too, but think this recipe is even better. For what it is worth, I doubled the recipe each time I made it, baked all the biscuits at once and can honestly say after reheating the biscuits in the microwave for 15-20 seconds it is hard to tell the difference between the microwaved biscuit and a biscuit just out of the oven. We’re toying with the idea of using this biscuit recipe as the base for biscuits and sausage gravy. We’ve had the biscuits with two different kinds of vegetarian soup and with creamy chipotle chicken and the biscuits went well with everything.

oh man this was the perfect dish! i had to come visit my parents because my dad had just had knee surgery and i had a busy day…this was a nice relaxing way to cook an awesome meal but still be available to fetch things for my dad every 10 min.

i left the jalapenos out of the biscuits & they still turned out fantastic…we added them independently, as desired.

i used half ground pork bc my parents had some on hand and it was TASTY! we also used the following substitutions for the same reason with great results:
*8oz of tomato sauce & 14.5oz of diced tomatoes (added 1/4 C beef broth to make up for it) instead of 16oz of sauce
*yellow & orange bell peppers instead of green
*1 Tbsp red wine vinegar & 2 Tbsp white vinegar

i doubled the biscuits and made them half-sized, and it was the perfect ratio. i froze about 1/3 of the biscuits unbaked & 1/3 of the chili separated into double portions (for my parents to cook quick dinners here & there), with little containers of shredded cheese & chopped onions & jalapenos.

thanks for always making just *the best* meals…i’ll never be able to express to you what it meant to be able to make something delicious without worrying about using a new recipe in a high stress environment.

I made this yesterday and think it needs twice as much tomato sauce and 50% more broth. Diced carrots and 1 tsp chili flakes worked well. I agree the biscuits did not rise as much as I expected but they were very tasty. I would prefer sour cream and cheese garnish on the chili to having the chili inside them. I will make the biscuits again to have with soup and press it into a 10×5″ rectangle 3/4″ thick and cut it into 10 2.5″ squares instead of cutting it into six circles.

YUM. To the biscuits, that is. I didn’t make the chili but I have made these biscuits a couple times now as drop biscuits. They are seriously amazing and so easy. Between my husband, myself and our toddler, we demolished the entire batch in one sitting. For 12 drop biscuits I baked them for 8-10 minutes at the same temp the recipe calls for. This is such a quick solution when you’re feeling lazy with a “bread” side to go with soup.

We just revisited this recipe in an attempt to eat ANYTHING other than leftover turkey last week. We nixed the green peppers, reduced the chili powder to 2 Tbsp, and used bison instead of beef and it was fantastic. Our 1.5 year old also loved it (we reduced the spice for his sake). He loved it so much that he knocked his bowl onto the floor in his enthusiasm…and we ate the chili anyway. Tester note: This chili is also delicious eaten off of the floor.

Hey Deb. Thanks SO much for this recipe. It had become my go to chili recipe… Absolutely delicious! Quick question, every time I’ve made the biscuits they’ve grown sideways, and by that I mean that the top grows sideways and then they immediately sink the moment I pull them out of the oven… Becoming almost flat! They taste delicious but presentation is somewhat lacking… Any ideas as to what I’m doing wrong?

Ugh THESE BISCUITS! They are amazing. I’ve made them three times now and have had no problem with them rising/falling. The sour cream is hard to stir in though, it worked much better for me to have the sour cream and jalapeños mixed together in a separate big bowl and add the dry ingredients in gradually. I just made a double batch for the freezer and cooked a few (is five a few?) for me in the toaster oven.

Thanks for an easy and delicious superbowl recipe. Made the biscuits as “drop biscuits” and they worked perfectly! Doubled the recipe like others and more than happy to have them as leftovers this week.

Out of necessity had to change the spices, and it was reeeaaalllly good! Used a mix of pasilla chili powder and regular, 2 T cumin and 1 T smoked paprika. I think the smoked paprika really made for an interesting flavor, you guys should try it! I also like this with 2 cans of beans.

Hands down my favorite chili recipe ever. My wife agreed. Just made my second batch last night, and I’m going to try the biscuits with dinner tonight. I thought the first batch tasted better after an overnight in the fridge, so I planned earlier the second time around. Will offer my tweaks to the recipe – I used one 15 ounce can of tomato sauce with one small can (think it is 5 ounces) of tomato paste. I also used 2 1/2 pounds of ground beef. Amount of beans varied. First time I used two cans, but last night discovered that I only had one can, so I just used one. Tastes delicious no matter what! Thanks Deb. You and your recipes rock!

Made a big double recipe of this chili because I love it so much; accidentally put chili pepper powder instead of chili powder. Nobody but my husband will even approach it it’s so spicy :'( 3 hours of work up in flames!

I grew up absolutely hating chili and unfortunately didn’t grow out of it until just several years ago. When a sudden craving hit last fall and I was still without a recipe of my own, I did what I always do when I need a recipe for…oh, anything, really: I came and checked here first. I’m about to make it for the fourth time in about 6 months (and just fyi it’s been in the 90s where I live and I don’t even care, it’s that good), and so I just wanted to say thank you.

I haven’t made the biscuits with this recipe yet, as my crew loves Fritos scoops with their chili, but your serving suggestion gave me the biggest light bulb about chicken pot pie! As a homeschooling mom of many, homemade pie crust on a weeknight isn’t an option (and they all agree that no storebought pastry of any variety is quite the same), but my go-to biscuit recipe is easy to whip up and more loved by the crowd anyway. So now we split biscuits in the bottom of a bowl and ladle chicken pot pie topping over. So much easier, and everyone is happy.

This is now my chili recipe. I am making it today, for the second time in less than a month. I am changing the beef to bean ratio (less beef, more beans) and cooking some dried Rancho Gordo beans for it.

We really love this recipe; its thick and flavorful.

I love so many of your recipes, Deb. Thank you for another winner, even though I’m a little late to the party.

I made the biscuits last night to serve with my own chili recipe. They were fabulous! I doubled the recipe and it made 12 three inch round biscuits. I may never eat chili again without one of these biscuits. The dough was extremely sticky and did not really resemble “dough” in the traditional sense… I was worried. I put it in the refrigerator overnight to firm up a little and then the next day pat it out onto saran wrap to the appropriate thickness and cut biscuits. It worked perfectly. This morning I reheated a biscuit in the toaster oven and enjoyed with a fried egg on top! I would highly recommend!

My go-to beef chili recipe. So delicious, exactly as written (though I sometimes substitute chicken broth for beef broth because I have it on hand). I made a double-batch of the biscuits and freeze them so we can eat chili and biscuits all week.

Another great success, thank you, Deb! Made this tonight and it was pure comfort. Using a good cheese for the buscuits went a long way. Mine were to spicy, next time I would do 1 tablespoon jalapeño. A perfect combination and one of my favourite recipes.

I’ve never made the biscuits, as my husband can’t eat gluten (and it’s too much work for just me, haha!) but this chili is my go-to recipe. Everyone I’ve made it for has raved about it, it is THAT good! I might try finding a gluten-free version of the biscuits, because I’m sure they’re amazing.

When I first made this I put 1/4 cup of what you call ground chiles – in New Zealand there is no such thing as a chili powder that is a mix of spices! Much hilarity and burning mouths ensued. Maybe for us non-American readers, it’s worth clarifying in the recipe? It did end up being delicious once it was cut with a huge volume of beans to spread the spice more thinly :)

Hopefully you see this after so long – I’m keen to make this but live in New Zealand and have no idea what you mean by a can of “tomato sauce”?! Here that would mean ketchup but pretty sure that’s not what you mean… do you mean like a jarred pre-seasoned pasta sauce? Or a plain passata? Or something else entirely? Thank you!

Here we have canned simple (no extra ingredients, maybe some onion powder) tomato sauces that come in approximately 1-cup cans. No worries if you don’t have. Try a tomato puree or a prepared tomato sauce. This recipe will be forgiving.